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≡ BELARUS YES, RUSSIA NO ≡
“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions governed by International Federations (IFs) and international sports event organisers.”
Thursday’s announcement removes recommended limitations on Belarusian athletes and teams in place since the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in which Belarus has been an ally, but apparently not directly involved in offensive operations.
The core principle, according to the statement is this:
“The IOC reaffirms that athletes’ participation in international competition should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including involvement in a war or conflict.”
For the Paris 2024 Games and 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, Belarusian athletes who were allowed to compete were classified as “neutrals.”
For Russia, however it’s not the same. Per the statement:
“The situation relating to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is different from that relating to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus. The NOC of Belarus is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter. Whilst the ROC has held constructive exchanges with the IOC on its suspension, it remains suspended while the IOC Legal Affairs Commission continues to review the matter.
“The IOC EB also noted with concern the recent information that has led to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) looking into the Russian anti-doping system. The IOC EB would therefore like to obtain a better understanding of this situation.”
IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) noted during her Thursday news conference that there is no timeline for resolution of the issues with Russia and that there was “great concern” within the Executive Board about recent questions raised about past or present relationships between the Russian Anti-Doping Agency and the Russian national security services. As to an inquiry now started by the World Anti-Doping Agency, Coventry explained:
“We do not know how long it will take, but you also know that in 2016, I was still an athlete and it is of huge importance for me to do whatever we can do ensure that the field of play, whenever any athletes are coming back to competition, it is the cleanest and fairest field of play we can provide.
“We will work with WADA and WADA have assured us that they will keep us in the loop of anything that may come up.”
Coventry also said that the IOC Legal Affairs Commission, in its review of the suspended status of the Russian Olympic Committee, considers public statements – such as support for the war against Ukraine – from Russian Olympic officials.
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Russian reaction was predictably unhappy. Russian sports minister and Russian Olympic Committee President Mikhail Degtyarev wrote on his Telegram page:
“[W]e are disappointed that the IOC Legal Commission was unable to reach a verdict on the Russian Olympic Committee’s case and has once again postponed it. As a reminder, the ROC long ago provided the IOC with a comprehensive set of documents demonstrating the elimination of all legal grounds for a further ban on the ROC. Our lawyers have submitted a request to the IOC regarding the status of these documents.
“We will decide on further steps based on the IOC’s comments. Linking the decision to reinstate the ROC to any unrelated issues is unacceptable.
“The reinstatement process has clearly been delayed, and we see no reason for it. This is especially true given the positive trend in admitting Russian juniors to international competitions in more than 20 sports, as well as swimmers, judokas, kickboxers, sambo and MMA wrestlers, and a number of other sports in all age categories, under the flag and with the anthem.
“Since the beginning of 2026, the Russian flag has been raised more than 80 times at world and European championships, cups, and tournaments. The Ministry of Sport and the Russian Olympic Committee will continue vigorous diplomatic and legal work to fully reinstate all Russian athletes.”
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